Law enforcement official Andrew Traver displays an assault weapon from a confiscated cache Feb. 28, 2007, in Chicago.

By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY

WASHINGTON  Three days before the mass shooting in Tucson reignited the gun-control debate, the White House renominated a Chicago law enforcement official whose actions have riled the gun rights movement to head the country's firearms enforcement agency.

"Traver has been deeply aligned with gun-control advocates and anti-gun activities," the National Rifle Association said in a statement the day before the Arizona attack. "This makes him the wrong choice to lead an enforcement agency that has almost exclusive oversight and control over the firearms industry, its retailers and consumers."

Traver's nomination, gun-control supporters said, all but ensures the firearms debate will go on after the spotlight fades in Tucson, where Arizona's top federal district judge, John Roll, was killed and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., was critically wounded. "I see (Traver's nomination) as a very big opportunity for the administration," said Paul Helmke, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. "Since this administration took office, they have run from the gun issue. ... They need to fight for this."

Some members of Congress, including Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, D-N.Y., have seized on the shooting Jan. 8 to call for at least a partial re-enactment of the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004.

Under that law, large ammunition magazines such as the one used in the Tucson shooting would be prohibited. The law banned magazines larger than 10 rounds. McCarthy's proposal would essentially restore that prohibition.

White House spokesman Reid Cherlin said Traver was nominated because "he's the best person for the job" but didn't elaborate. "We hope the Senate will confirm him without delay," Cherlin said.

The nomination of Traver, who declined to comment, represents a critical moment for the agency's future, former agency officials said. The bureau, whose enforcement portfolio includes bombing and arson investigations, has been without a permanent director for the past five years. During that time, its staffing — at 2,500 agents — has remained unchanged as other federal law enforcement agencies have grown dramatically.

"The agency badly needs a confirmed director," said Ronnie Carter, a former deputy director of the bureau. The vacuum, he said, hasn't been good for the organization's standing. "You can't fight the good fight for budgets and resources if you don't have permanent leadership," Carter said.

Bradley Buckles, a former bureau director, said Traver comes from the trenches of law enforcement and has no political agenda. "He's a law enforcement officer," Buckles said. "He's not a gun-control advocate. I'm familiar with the NRA's argument, but they are not giving this guy a chance."

Traver was first nominated in November, but the Senate Judiciary Committee failed to act on the nomination.

At that time, Chris Cox, executive director of the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, said a 2007 report by the police chiefs group, "generated with Traver's help, called on Congress to ban thousands of commonly owned firearms by misrepresenting them as assault weapons."

Cox took issue with Traver's appearance in a 2009 TV news report in Chicago in which he referred to gang members who favor military-type weapons. "Pull the trigger, and you can mow people down," Traver said.

Cox said the fully automatic weapons shown being fired in the TV report falsely implied the firearms are widely available to gang members. "Traver knows that fully automatic firearms are not available through normal retail channels," Cox said.

Traver's nomination has not been scheduled for Senate consideration. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said Traver will get a "chance" to win confirmation. In the meantime, Grassley said, he'll study the arguments gun rights advocates have leveled against the nominee.

"I start from a position as a purist on the Second Amendment," Grassley said.

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